Press construction



F. J. RODE ET AL PRESS CONSTRUCTION Filed April 3, 1933 May 22, 1934.

l 4 Sheets-Sheet l May 22, 1934. J. RODE Er AL fmass CONSTRUCTION FiledApril 3. 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet May 22, 1934. F. J. RODE'. Er AL PRESSCONSTRUCTION 7 Filed April 3, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 22, 1934; F. J.RODE El AL PRESS CONSTRUCTION .FiledApril 5, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4llmulu 1.. 7

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\ I lllll l I ll IL Patented May 22, 1934 1,960,166 PRESS CONSTRUCTIONFredrich J. Rode and Rudolph W. Glasner, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 3, 1933, Serial No. 664,186

15 Claims.

It is well known in the operation of heavy duty presses that sometimeswork will be inserted thereinto that is of a size or dimension too largefor the press to properly handle, with the result that the press willstic or become locked at the bottom or lower center of the crank throw,and in order to release or relieve the press of such condition, it isnecessary to unfasten parts of the structure or loosen tie rods or boltsto allow the work to be pried ou or separate the parts of the presssufficiently to allow the crank to turn over, after which the parts areagain adjusted or tightened. This is a very diflicult and laborious taskand some considerable time is required to effect the same.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide in a heavyduty press improved means, whereby, by the application of heat portionsof the press structure may be expanded sufficiently to relieve suchlocked condition by providing sufficient space to permit the cranktoturn over or move out of its lower locked position. This may beaccomplished by means of the application of heat, either electrically orotherwise, but as illustrating the principles of this invention there isshown and described means in the press structure to permit a heatingmedium, such as a hot fluid, to be circulated through portions of thepress structure. After such locked condition has been overcome, orrelieved, the press or the heated parts thereof may be allowed to cooloff, with the result that they will contract or assume their normal ororiginal working condition or position for the further operation of thepress.

A further object is to provide improved means whereby a heating mediummay be circulated through the tie rods or fastening means by which theparts of the press are secured together and thereby render it possibleto readily and quickly make the proper or necessary adjustment.

Furthermore, in order to properly aline all of the parts of the press,when it'is of the tie rod construction type, it is an advantage toshrink the tie rods together with an equal amount of shrinkage, andtherefore another one of the objects of the invention is to providemeans for an equal application of heat.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new anduseful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features ofnovelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement,ofthe several parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed andshown in the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention, and inwhich Figure 1 is a view in vertical elevation, partlyin section andpartly broken away, of a'press of this character constructed inaccordance with the principles of this invention.

Figure 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section, as takenon line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a viewpartly in elevation, partly in section, and partlybroken away of another form of the invention.

Figure 5 is a right hand end elevation of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 6-6, Figure 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and to the form of theinvention shown in Figures 1 to 3, the press consists essentially of aframe which is preferably hollow and constructed of spaced front andback plate members, shaped to form supporting columns or uprights 10, abase 11 and, a crown 12. This structure is preferably formed of plateswelded together to produce a closed box like formation provided with thenecessary openings for the reception of shafts and operating mechanism.

Mounted upon the base 11 and secured in position preferably by weldingthe same, is a bed or bolster'plate 13 upon which a die 14 is mounted,and this die is preferably provided with the usual work holding members15 which co-operate with a die 16 mounted upon a ram 1'7, and which ramslides in guideways 18 on the uprights or supporting columns 10, beingreciprocated from a crank shaft 19 through the medium of a connectinglink 20. i

The crank shaft 19 may be rotated by means of a gear 21, with which agear 22 meshes and which gear 22 is secured to a shaft 23 havingconnected therewith a pulley 24, over which a driving belt 25 passes.

The shaft 23 may be mounted in the usual brackets or bearings 26, andsuitable openings 27 may be provided through the box like framestructure, through which access may be had to the dies and work, ifdesired. v

Reinforcing or bracing ribs or webs 28 may be provided within the boxlike frame structure, wherever necessary. I i

The frame structure may be provided with suitable openings at any point,preferably in the crown thereof, in which inlet pipes 29 are secured,and through which pipes 29 a suitable taken heating medium supplied froma suitable source may'enter into the frame structure.

Outlet openings 30 may be provided adjacent the bottom of the framestructure to permit water of condensation to be conveyed away.

In use and when the operator inserts work into the press which is of adiameter or dimension too great to be properly acted upon by the diecarried by the reciprocating ram and which will, when the ram reachesthe limit of its throw, usually occurring at the time when the crankshaft. is at its lower center point, cause the press to be locked at itslower center point, it will be manifest that unless this lockedcondition is relieved, the crank cannot turn over or move out of itslower locked position and the further use of the press will be lost.

With the present invention and in order to overcome this difficulty andobjectionjit is only necessary when the parts of the press become thuslocked, to admit a heating medium, preferably in the form of a hotfluid, to flow into the box like frame structure through the pipes 29,at a temperature sufficient to cause an expansion of the frame structurein a direction lengthwise of the supporting columns or uprights 10,suflicient to relieve this locked condition or position of the parts, byproviding sufficient space to permit the crank to turn over or move outof its lower center locked position. Such an expansion of the pressstructure will be readily accomplished, and any water of condensationforming in the structure will flow out of' the outlets 30, or if desiredthe heating medium may be allowed to circulate from the pipes 29 throughthe press structure and out of the outlet openings 30.

It will therefore be manifest that by the application of heat to thepress structure the same may be expanded sufiiciently to relieve'onovercome the locked condition, without the necessity of loosening orunfastening any of the parts of the press or without adjusting the same.

After the condition has been relieved and the work removed or the crankturned over, the supply of the heating medium will be cut oil and thepress frame will be allowed to cool. The cooling of the structure willcause the same to contract and the parts will then move'back to theirnormal or original operating position.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 4 to 6, the press frame isof the usual and well known construction, comprising a base section 31,a supporting column or upright section 32 and a crown section 33, eachbeing provided respectively with tubular portions 34, 35v and 36,through which tie rods 37 pass. v These tie rods are hollow and aresecured in position in the usual manner, preferably by means of nuts orcollars 38-39, and the open extremities of the rods may be provided withnipples or couplings 4041. A supply pipe 42 may be connected to thenipples 40 for directing a heating medium through the nipples and intothe hollow tie rods, from a suitable source of supply, and a controlvalve 43 maybe provided in the pipe.- Likewise, a pipe 44 may beconnected to the nipples 41 for conducting away the water ofcondensation, or

, through which the heating medium may be carried away, and a controlvalve provided in the pipe 44.

In this form of the invention, and when the cranks 46 which areconnected by the links 47 45 may also be withthe arm 48, are locked intheir lower center position during the operation upon the work, it isonly necessary, in order to relieve such locked condition, to admit aheating medium from the pipe 42 into the hollow tie rods 37, and as theheating medium flows through these tie rods, they will be expandedsufiiciently in length so as to relieve the locked condition of the ramand cranks by providing a sufficient space to permit the cranks toturnover or move out of their lower center locked position.

After this condition has been relieved,the supply of heating medium iscut off and the tie rods 37 will then cool off and contract, with theresult that the parts will be drawn back and secured in their originalor normal working position.

With this invention it will be manifest that it is possible to equallyand simultaneously expand different parts of the press.

' While the preferred forms of the invention have been herein shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that various changes may be made inthe details of construction and in the combination and arrangement ofthe several parts, within the scope of the claims, without departingfrom the spirit of this'invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a press embodying a frame structure, a reciprocable ram, and meansfor circulating a heating medium through a portion of the framestructure to temporarily expand the same.

2. In a press embodying a frame structure,. a reciprocable ram, andmeans incorporated in the frame structure'for use for temporarilyexpanding the frame structure in the direction of reciprocation of theram by the application of heat internally to a portion of saidstructure.

3. In a press embodying a frame structure, a reciprocable ram, and meansfor circulating a heating medium through a portion of the framestructure to temporarily expand the same in the direction ofreciprocation of the ram.

4. In a press embodying a frame structure, a bed, a ram reciprocabletowards and away from the bed with a set throw, a rotatable elementmounted upon the frame for reciprocating the ram, and means fortemporarily increasing at will the distance between the axis of rotationof said rotatable element and the working surface of said bed by theapplication of heat internally to a portion of the frame structure.

5. In a press. embodying a frame structure, a bed, a ram reciprocabletowards and away from the bed with a set throw, a rotatable elementmounted upon the frame for reciprocating'the ram, and means fortemporarily increasing at will the distance between the axis of rotationof said rotatable element and the working surface of said bed bycirculating a heating medium through a portion of the frame structure.

6. In a press a rigid frame structure, a reciprocable' ram, and meanstemporarily expand- 'ing at will,'a portion of said structure irrthe'direction of reciprocation of the ram, by the ap- -7. In a press, arigid frame structure, a re- I ciprocable ram, and meanstemporarilyexpanding at will, a portion of said structure in the direction ofreciprocation of the ram, by circulating a heating medium through suchportion of the structure.

8. In a press a rigid frame structure, a bed, a ram reciprocabletowardsand away from said bed, a crank for reciprocating said ram, and meanswhereby when the crank becomes locked on its. lowercenter such lockedcondition may be s a ram reciprocable towards and away from said bed, acrank for reciprocating said ram, and means whereby heat may be appliedinternally to a portion of the frame structure for temporarily expandingat will such portion and in the direction of reciprocation of the ram,to relieve the said crank'when the latter becomes locked on its lowercenter during the operation of the press.

11. In a press a rigid frame of steel welded construction, areciprocable ram, and means for expanding at will, a portion of saidframe by circulating a heating-medium through said portion.

12. In a press a rigid frame structure embodying tie rods for securingthe parts together, and means whereby heat may be applied internally tothe rods for longitudinally expanding them.

13. In a press a rigid frame structure embodying tie rods for securing,the parts together, and

means for longitudinally expanding said rods by the application of heatthereto internally of the press structure and while said rods and theco-operating parts of the press are intact.

14. In a press embodying a fr'ame structure, a reciprocable ram, andmeans for applyin heat internally to different portions of the structurefor equally and simultaneously expanding such portions.

15. In a press embodying a frame structure, a reciprocable ram, andmeans whereby an expanding medium may be applied within the framestructure to temporarily expand the latter while all of the parts of theframe structure remain intact. FREDRICH J. RODE.

RUDOLPH W. GLASNER.

